Walney Central Pre-School

INSPECTION DETAILS

Inspection Date 01/11/2004 Inspector Name Lesley Ormrod

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SETTING DETAILS

Day Care Type Full Day Care Setting Name Walney Central Pre-School Setting Address The Old Police House Central Drive,Walney Island BARROW-IN-FURNESS Cumbria LA14 3HY

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REGISTERED PROVIDER DETAILS

Name The Committee of Walney Central Pre-School

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ORGANISATION DETAILS

Name Walney Central Pre-School Address Central Drive Walney Barrow-in-Furness Cumbria LA14 3HY

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ORGANISATION DETAILS

This inspection was carried out under the provisions of Part XA of the Children Act 1989, as inserted by the Care Standards Act 2000; and Section 122 of the School Standards and Framework Act 1998

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ABOUT THE INSPECTION

The purpose of this inspection is to assure government, parents and the public of the quality and standard of day care in accordance with the National Standards for Under Eights Day Care and Childminding; and that the nursery education for funded three and four year old children is of an acceptable quality. Inspection of nursery education also identifies strengths and weaknesses so that providers can improve the quality of educational provision and help children to achieve the early learning goals (elgs) by the end of the Foundation Stage. This inspection report must be made available to all parents. If the setting has been inspected previously, an action plan will have been drawn up to tackle issues identified. This inspection, therefore, must also assess what progress has been made in the implementation of this plan.

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Information about the setting

Walney Central Pre-School opened in May 1972. It operates from a detached bungalow on Walney Island adjacent to the town of Barrow-in-Furness in Cumbria. There is sole use of the premises. The pre-school consists of a playroom with access to a toilets' area, disabled facilities and a kitchen. There is access to a fully enclosed outside play area. The pre-school is close to local amenities such as shops, parks, playgrounds and schools. The facility serves the local communities of Walney Island, Barrow-in-Furness and surrounding areas. The childcare facility is registered for 24 children. There are currently 27 children from two to five years on roll . This includes 20 funded three-year-olds and 3 funded four-year-olds. Children attend for a variety of sessions. The facility currently supports a number of children with special needs. There are no children currently on roll who speak English as an additional language.

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Information about the setting

The pre-school opens five days a week during school term-times. Sessions are from 09.15 to 15.15. A play scheme usually runs for two afternoons for four weeks in the summer closure period. Seven full-time staff and four part-time staff work in the facility. Eight staff have early years qualifications to National Vocational Qualification (NVQ) level 3. Two staff have early years qualifications to National Vocational Qualification (NVQ) level 2. One staff member is working towards National Vocational Qualification (NVQ) level 3. The setting receives support from a teacher from the Early Years Development and Childcare Partnership (EYDCP).

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How good is the Day Care?

Walney Central Pre-School provides good care for children. The facility has a warm and welcoming environment that helps children to feel secure. There is good organisation of the pre-school by the manager for the provision of day care for pre-school children. The staff have extended their knowledge and expertise in early years by completing additional qualifications and accessing regular training. There is

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How good is the Day Care?

This inspection was carried out under the provisions of Part XA of the Children Act 1989, as inserted by the Care Standards Act 2000; and Section 122 of the School Standards and Framework Act 1998 a very good range of age-appropriate play resources and equipment that provides children with good learning opportunities. Most documentation is in place and shared fully with staff and parents. There are good arrangements for health and safety and security to protect children. Staff have good daily hygiene schedules and children use well-cared-for equipment in a clean environment. Children have healthy and nutritious snacks and drinks. There is very good support for children with special needs and disabilities. There are very good resources and activities to develop children's awareness of equality and diversity. Children have their health care needs met well. Staff have a good knowledge of child protection and keeping children safe.

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How good is the Day Care?

There is very good planning of learning and play opportunities for children. Children's development is regularly observed and recorded. There is very good use of the foundation stage curriculum materials to help children make progress in all areas. Staff use effective strategies to manage children's behaviour well. There are good arrangements to keep parents fully informed about their child's progress at the pre-school. Parents receive newsletters and attend regular open days. They are given helpful information and practical support.

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What has improved since the last inspection?

At the last inspection the provider agreed to a number of actions: to ensure that all staff are appropriately vetted and can be demonstrated; that the statement on behaviour management includes bullying; that the complaints procedure includes the address and telephone number of the regulator and that the statement on child protection includes the procedures to be followed in the event of an allegation being made against a member of staff or volunteer. The provider has improved her provision by arranging for all staff to be appropriately vetted; providing a statement on bullying; providing a procedure to handle allegations against staff and updating the complaints' procedure.

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What is being done well?

• There are very good arrangements to provide a curriculum that enables children to make good progress in all areas of learning. Children complete matching size to shape to number tasks in the designated mathematical skills area and run a greengrocer's shop in the home corner. • Children have a good range of stimulating activities and experiences that develop their imaginative and creative skills. They design patterns by printing with a range of vegetables dipped in paint and create structures with a magnetic construction set. • Staff provide very good support for children with special needs and disabilities. They liaise closely with parents to identify how they can fully include each child in the provision made by the pre-school. Detailed assessments are completed and the information used effectively to help the

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What is being done well?

This inspection was carried out under the provisions of Part XA of the Children Act 1989, as inserted by the Care Standards Act 2000; and Section 122 of the School Standards and Framework Act 1998 child to make progress. • Children's behaviour is managed very well. Staff give children time to reflect and come to terms with the cause of their difficulty. Children understand why simple rules are necessary and explain to each other why they should not run in the room. • Staff plan good activities with a range of resources to promote children's awareness of diversity and equality. In circle time children look at a story book about shopping and discuss how a wheelchair user is able to access shops. They celebrate a range of festivals and learn about other cultures.

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What needs to be improved?

• the insertion of the regulator's contact details into the complaints' policy.

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CONDITIONS OF REGISTRATION

All registered persons must comply with all conditions of registration included on his/her certificate of registration. As a result of this inspection conditions of registration have been imposed / varied / removed and a new certificate of registration will be issued.

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by the time of the next inspection

Std Recommendation 14 Insert the regulator's details in the complaints policy.

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by the time of the next inspection

This inspection was carried out under the provisions of Part XA of the Children Act 1989, as inserted by the Care Standards Act 2000; and Section 122 of the School Standards and Framework Act 1998

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How effective is the nursery education?

Walney Central Pre-School provides high-quality nursery education overall which enables children to make very good progress towards the early learning goals. Provision for their personal, social and emotional development with all other areas of learning is very well planned and they make very good progress in all areas. The quality of teaching is very good. Staff manage the children very well and have very good relationships with them. They interact well with the children encouraging them to develop their own ideas and thinking. Staff plan a very good range of interesting and stimulating activities making effective use of excellent resources and promoting the children's independence. They understand what children need to learn in all areas of learning and extend activities to provide sufficient challenges for three and four year olds. All children are given a good level of individual support. Staff fully

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How effective is the nursery education?

include children with special needs in the full range of the pre-school activities. There is a strong sense of community in the setting. Staff regularly assess children's learning against the stepping stones and early learning goals and use this information to plan what children should do next. They keep detailed records which provide a clear picture of children's progress to share with parents. The leadership and management of the pre-school are very good. The manager works collaboratively with the committed staff team. Staff have an appraisal system and access a full range of training and further qualifications. The manager effectively monitors, evaluates and advises staff on the quality of their teaching. All staff contribute to development targets enhancing the provision for children at the pre-school. The partnership with parents and carers is very good. Staff have very good relationships with parents who value the support and advice given. There are many

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How effective is the nursery education?

opportunities offered for parents to meet with staff to discuss their children's progress.

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What is being done well?

• There is very good planning and organisation of the curriculum that enables all children to make very good progress towards the early learning goals. Staff spend time together each week to finalise the weekly planning for activities that are stimulating, exciting and gain children's interest and involvement throughout the sessions. The manager ensures that overall coverage of the curriculum is monitored and learning objectives revisited as needed. • Children have excellent opportunities for role play that encourages their imaginative skills' development very well. They play in the 'Accident and

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What is being done well?

This inspection was carried out under the provisions of Part XA of the Children Act 1989, as inserted by the Care Standards Act 2000; and Section 122 of the School Standards and Framework Act 1998 Emergency Unit', treating patients, writing prescriptions and treatment cards and using the play medical equipment creatively. Children write out their shopping lists, use a till, count out fruit and veg and write receipts in the greengrocer's shop. • Staff use excellent strategies to promote children's good behaviour and consideration for others. Children understand why simple rules are necessary and will remind each other of what to do. Staff give time to children, listening to and talking to them when they need support to manage their behaviour or come to terms with their feelings. • Children are making very good progress in their use of language to talk about their experiences and in their use of mathematical ideas to solve problems.

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What is being done well?

They use their learnt vocabulary to enthusiastically describe their Halloween pictures, costumes and make-up. They use their mathematical skills to work out how to balance on the scales the fruit and vegetables that they have counted out and matched to sizes. • Parents are regularly given very good information about their children's progress. Parental assessments of their children's progress and achievements at home are actively sought and included in the progress reports and assessment profiles. Staff have a fully inclusive approach and offer excellent support to parents of children who attend with special needs.

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What needs to be improved?

• the attention given to the accessibility of the children's reading books.

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What has improved since the last inspection?

Very good progress has been made since the last inspection. The staff have introduced very effective measures to monitor the children's take-up of daily activities and they have utilised their very effective teaching strategies to maximise children's learning opportunities at tidy-up time and snack-time. These points were raised for consideration at the last inspection. The manager and staff have each allocated activities for their area of learning focussed on for that day. They complete activity sheets on a daily basis, recording observations for children's achievements, learning needs and listing the children taking part in the activity. The sheets include learning objectives, stepping stone and early learning goal links and evaluation of activity. The approach developed is cohesive, pulling together the information for the weekly planning meetings and informing key workers daily of assessment information for their named children. Staff

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What has improved since the last inspection?

use the activity sheets and the checklists developed to identify any children who have not taken up the daily activities and ensure that they take part in these in the following days. Very good guidance sheets have been developed to enable staff to use their many teaching strengths for the maximising of children's learning opportunities at tidy-up time and snack-time. Learning objectives and management of these times are

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What has improved since the last inspection?

This inspection was carried out under the provisions of Part XA of the Children Act 1989, as inserted by the Care Standards Act 2000; and Section 122 of the School Standards and Framework Act 1998 detailed. Children now have extended learning opportunities to learn about caring for their equipment and the environment; becoming aware of healthy foods and drinks; developing social skills and helping each other. The appointment of children to be monitors with special tasks to carry out with a staff member at these times results in good encouragement of their self esteem.

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What has improved since the last inspection?

This inspection was carried out under the provisions of Part XA of the Children Act 1989, as inserted by the Care Standards Act 2000; and Section 122 of the School Standards and Framework Act 1998

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PERSONAL, SOCIAL AND EMOTIONAL DEVELOPMENT

Judgement: Very Good There are very good relationships between staff and children. Children are confident to try new activities that challenge them. They are encouraged to be independent and to select resources for themselves. Children persist with difficult tasks such as matching letters to their names. They are developing good self care skills such as deciding when to wash their hands. Children behave well and observe simple rules. They have a clear sense of community and show concern for each other.

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COMMUNICATION, LANGUAGE AND LITERACY

Judgement: Very Good Children are confident speakers and keenly communicate their ideas in circle times. They listen intently to stories, show anticipation and enthusiastically repeat the rhythmic refrains. Children can recognise their written names and make good attempts at writing their names with some recognisable letters. They write shopping lists in role play and are encouraged to recognise print as labels around them. Children enjoy linking sounds to letters and are developing well their range of vocabulary.

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MATHEMATICAL DEVELOPMENT

Judgement: Very Good Children enjoy working with objects such as fruit and vegetables to help them count to ten, match given numbers of objects to the number figure and writing numbers. They can recognise shapes, colours and sizes and match in boards of graduated difficulty. Children learn about money values in their role play and visits to local shops. They compare their height as they grow and use wood blocks to measure their length. Children learn about adding and subtracting when using scales to weigh.

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KNOWLEDGE AND UNDERSTANDING OF THE WORLD

Judgement: Very Good Staff plan exciting opportunities such as soap sculpture for children to develop their sensory exploration skills. Children plant seeds on an island and understand what makes things grow. They investigate with a magnetic construction set and use technology such as a camera to take pictures of their care for Spot the toy dog. Children learn about their community and visit senior citizens. They explore the natural world using a nature trail and beach walks. Children use diversity resources.

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KNOWLEDGE AND UNDERSTANDING OF THE WORLD

This inspection was carried out under the provisions of Part XA of the Children Act 1989, as inserted by the Care Standards Act 2000; and Section 122 of the School Standards and Framework Act 1998

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PHYSICAL DEVELOPMENT

Judgement: Very Good There is a very good outside play area with floor and wall murals that promotes children's physical development. They play organised games, lay-out walkways and enthusiastically use sit-and-ride toys. Children understand the language of direction and have good spatial awareness. They join in the Scarecrow song to loosen up and feel healthy. Children are developing good fine motor skills. They use scissors to cut cellophane for their rockets and hold their mark makers correctly for writing.

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CREATIVE DEVELOPMENT

Judgement: Very Good Children freely explore painting and collage in exciting creative activities. They name colours and select their choices eagerly to paint fireworks using throw and blow techniques. Children actively participate in music sessions focussing on dynamics imitating intently loud and quiet actions of the House on the Sand. They create papier mache African drums and dance in free play. Children develop excellent role play scenarios in the home area as they attend to 'casualties' in the accident unit.

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Children's spiritual, moral, social, and cultural development is fostered

This inspection was carried out under the provisions of Part XA of the Children Act 1989, as inserted by the Care Standards Act 2000; and Section 122 of the School Standards and Framework Act 1998

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OUTCOME OF THE INSPECTION

The provision is acceptable and is of high quality. Children are making very good progress towards the early learning goals. The next inspection will take place in three to four years time.

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WHAT THE SETTING NEEDS TO DO NEXT

There are no significant weaknesses to report, but considerations should be given to improving the following: • There are no significant weaknesses to report, but consideration should be given to improving the following: • the accessibility of the book corner. The provider must draw up an action plan within 40 working days of receipt of this report showing how the key issues detailed above will be addressed. The action plan must be made available to all parents and to the Local Authority if required. An evaluation of the action taken will form part of the next inspection of funded nursery education.

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WHAT THE SETTING NEEDS TO DO NEXT

This inspection was carried out under the provisions of Part XA of the Children Act 1989, as inserted by the Care Standards Act 2000; and Section 122 of the School Standards and Framework Act 1998

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STANDARD 1 - SUITABLE PERSON

Adults providing day care, looking after children or having unsupervised access to them are suitable to do so.

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STANDARD 2 - ORGANISATION

The registered person meets required adult: child ratios, ensures that training and qualifications requirements are met and organises space and resources to meet the children's needs effectively.

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STANDARD 3 - CARE, LEARNING AND PLAY

The registered person meets children's individual needs and promotes their welfare. They plan and provide activities and play opportunities to develop children's emotional, physical, social and intellectual capabilities.

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STANDARD 4 - PHYSICAL ENVIRONMENT

The premises are safe, secure and suitable for their purpose. They provide adequate space in an appropriate location, are welcoming to children and offer access to the necessary facilities for a range of activities which promote their development.

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STANDARD 5 - EQUIPMENT

Furniture, equipment and toys are provided which are appropriate for their purpose and help to create an accessible and stimulating environment. They are of suitable design and condition, well maintained and conform to safety standards.

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STANDARD 6 - SAFETY

The registered person takes positive steps to promote safety within the setting and on outings and ensures proper precautions are taken to prevent accidents.

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STANDARD 7 - HEALTH

The registered person promotes the good health of children and takes positive steps to prevent the spread of infection and appropriate measures when they are ill.

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STANDARD 8 - FOOD AND DRINK

Children are provided with regular drinks and food in adequate quantities for their needs. Food and drink is properly prepared, nutritious and complies with dietary and religious requirements.

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STANDARD 9 - EQUAL OPPORTUNITIES

The registered person and staff actively promote equality of opportunity and anti-discriminatory practice for all children.

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NEEDS AND DISABILITIES)

The registered person is aware that some children may have special needs and is

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NEEDS AND DISABILITIES)

This inspection was carried out under the provisions of Part XA of the Children Act 1989, as inserted by the Care Standards Act 2000; and Section 122 of the School Standards and Framework Act 1998 proactive in ensuring that appropriate action can be taken when such a child is identified or admitted to the provision. Steps are taken to promote the welfare and development of the child within the setting in partnership with the parents and other relevant parties.

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STANDARD 11 - BEHAVIOUR

Adults caring for children in the provision are able to manage a wide range of children's behaviour in a way which promotes their welfare and development.

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STANDARD 12 - WORKING IN PARTNERSHIP WITH PARENTS AND CARERS

The registered person and staff work in partnership with parents and to meet the needs of the children, both individually and as a group. Information is shared.

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STANDARD 13 - CHILD PROTECTION

The registered person complies with local child protection procedures approved by the Area Child Protection Committee and ensures that all adults working and looking after children in the provision are able to put the procedures into practice.

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STANDARD 14 - DOCUMENTATION

Records, policies and procedures which are required for the efficient and safe management of the provision, or to promote the welfare, care and learning of children are maintained. Records about individual children are shared with the child's parent.

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STANDARD 14 - DOCUMENTATION

This inspection was carried out under the provisions of Part XA of the Children Act 1989, as inserted by the Care Standards Act 2000; and Section 122 of the School Standards and Framework Act 1998

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